One of the quickest, easiest treats to throw for the holidays are these easy “Reindeer Noses” (also known as Rolo Pretzels.)  They use only THREE ingredients and most of us probably remember some version of this treat from our childhood.  A pretzel base, a Rolo or Hershey Kiss melted slightly over the pretzel, then an M&M pushed in to the top.  This kid favorite always disappears off the table quicker than you can fill the plate.

You can be pretty creative with these little treats – you can use almost any mini candy bar and any kind of M&M’s – but this leveled up version uses dark chocolate salted caramel Rolos and peanut butter holiday M&M’s and the flavor combination is just fantastic!  It’s similar to a Take 5 bar or an Oh Henry! Level Up bar.

These Reindeer Noses are a great addition for a pop of color to your cookie platters, or they look really nice wrapped up in little treat bags with ribbon.  You can leave them for Santa or have Santa leave some for the kids to say thanks!  We like to call the ones with the red noses, Rudolph’s in our house.    

A couple of tips for this recipe:

• If you can’t find the salted caramel Rolos, you can absolutely use plain Rolos!  Depending on what you like you could also use Hershey Kisses, Dove with caramel or even mini Milky Ways.  (I do like the way the Rolos roll down a little – they look so cute!
• If you are not a fan of peanut butter or have a peanut allergy in your house, there are LOTS of different flavor M&M’s you can use – I love the combination of caramel and peanut butter but they have plain, peanut, brownie, cookie dough – just pick one you like!
• I like to press the M&M’s in with the M’s facing down so they don’t show.
• Be very careful pushing in the M&M’s and keep a paper towel by your side to wipe your hands if you accidentally hit the chocolate – you don’t want chocolate finger prints all over the M&M’s.  Just gently drop the M&M on the top of the warm Rolo and use just the tip of your finger to press down! (Alternatively use one of those shake size straws to push them down, this would be fun for the kids!)
• You can make as many of these as you like, you just need equal amounts of each ingredient.  I put 45 because that was about how many Rolo’s were in the bag, but feel free to do more – you will be shocked how fast they disappear!

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Place the pretzels on the baking tray and top each pretzel with an unwrapped Rolo.
3. Place in the oven for about 3 minutes, they should look glossy but will still be holding their shape.
4. Carefully remove from the oven and immediately press one M&M in to each Rolo.
5. Let the treats cool completely before touching or serving!  (You can throw the tray in to the refrigerator for a few minutes to help speed it up if necessary.)